Negotiations between Russia and Georgia with Swiss mediation, on issues related to customs, administration and trade in goods, have been successfully concluded, thus putting in place the mechanisms envisaged in an agreement between the two countries signed in 2011.

Representatives of Azerbaijani civil society, on Monday (4 February) discussed the next steps on the way to peace at an event in Baku with the theme: "Preparing the nations for peace: problems of the past and present", organised by the Humanitarian Research Public Union.

"We can see that our Western colleagues are reluctant to communicate on an equal footing on various platforms," the Russian Foreign Minister noted during a speech in Bishkek. "We are calm about it. Arrogance and a sense of superiority never made anyone more attractive," he said..

Official figures revealed that the population residing in Turkey increased by 1,193,357 people year-on-year. The population rate in the 15-64 working age group increased by 1.4 percent compared to the previous year.

The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Armenia will receive four new SU-30s fighter jets in 2020. Russia will supply the aircraft with credit, and at Russian domestic prices, the newspaper said.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (30 January) the state oil company SOCAR announced that it was buying the energy business of Germany's EWE in Turkey, and will thus for the first time participate in the natural gas distribution business in the country.

Aliyev spoke of the ongoing conflict with Armenia, saying political, economic and military power was necessary to win this conflict. But he also sounded a conciliatory note. "We want a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We do not want martyrs, we do not want young people to become martyrs", he told those assembled.